Gossip in the Locker Room
by Ylhatesprwns
Summary: Just a few battle subway workers sharing some gossip about their bosses... Nobori/Touko (Ingo/Hilda). Expressshipping. Slight Kudari/Kamitsure (Emmet/Elesa).


**Hi all! It's been quite some time since I've written a fic. This is just a small fic that was churned out in a few hours from a sudden spark of inspiration. Hope you guys will enjoy it! Expressshipping needs more love yeah! **

**Disclaimer: I do not owe pokemon or any of it characters. Though I do wish Expressshipping is canon.**

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"Thank you for the hard work today!" Kenichi walked into the lockers room to changed out of his uniform. It was after work and he was feeling very tired.

_This battle subway job is tougher than I thought. _

There were three other workers inside the locker room - one was changing out and the other two were just sitting at the table, probably conversing before he came in. They turned their heads to greet him and continued their activities.

"So Kenichi-san, had any interesting battles today?" One of the workers who was sitting down asked him, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Eh, nothing in particular… oh right, there was this insanely strong trainer who totally crushed me." Kenichi recalled. "A girl with long, brown hair."

"Let me guess, she wears a cap, white and black outfit and short pants? And one insanely strong Samurott?" the other guy who was sitting down too chirped in.

"Yeah! How did you know? Battled her before?" Kenichi was relieved that he was not the only one who went through that humiliating defeat.

"You're new here so you wouldn't know… but everyone here knows her and battled her at least once." Guy three replied. "She's a regular, Touko-san."

"Oh wow…" Kenichi was at a loss for words.

"Yeah… how long has it been since she came? One year?" Guy three closed his locker and joined the table.

"A year and a half."

"That's quite a while ago." Kenichi commented. He has nothing intelligent to contribute. "She's kinda cute now that I think about it."

"Don't even try. She's taken."

"By who?"

"She belongs to your boss, Nobori-san."

"Eeeh?! Nobori-san?! I can't imagine it." Kenichi reeled over in shocked. He always had the impression that Nobori was a strict and quiet guy, obsessed with work and incapable of showing any expression like a robot.

"Neither can we. We were all surprised when we heard the news a few months ago." Guy one replied.

"How did that even happen?" Kenichi closed his locker and joined them.

"Hey you battled her the first few months when she first came didn't you, Mizuki?" Guy one nudged Guy two, whom Kenichi now knew as Mizuki. "What happened in the subway?"

"Ah yes… She was very strong for a first timer. She managed to reach Nobori-san but her pokemon were too exhausted to put up a good fight." Mizuki furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember the events that happened. "Then she got very angry… yes, a feisty girl indeed. Started declaring war on Nobori-san, saying things like 'Just you wait, I'll definitely defeat you'. Apparently being the league champion is not enough to defeat Nobori-san."

"She's a league champion?! I totally couldn't tell!"

"Looks can be deceiving, Kenichi." Mizuki waggled his index finger. "Anyway, after that day, she kept coming back for Nobori-san. Her pokemon got stronger too as time goes by. Nobori-san had to train his pokemon seriously almost everyday to keep up with her pace."

"Yeah… it was the first time we all saw Nobori-san being so competitive." Guy three laughed. "He kept promoting the battle subway to attract more trainers."

"So how did the romance started?" Kenichi was now very curious.

"Ah yes… we're getting to the juicy part." Mizuki let out a rather girlish giggle. "Truth to be told, I think it started off more as an obsession."

"Oh yes! I remember… both of them were constantly seeking out each other… he would keep asking if she came to the battle subway that day and she would keep asking where Nobori-san was." Guy one slammed his hands excitedly on the table. "We were all peeking and eavesdropping when she asked Nobori-san to join her for lunch."

"Yeah… Nobori-san was so surprised at that time that he froze on the spot. Probably because nobody had ever invited him along for lunch except his brother."

"Unfortunately Touko-san took his no answer as a rejection and ran off, most likely feeling embarrassed. You know how girls get when someone rejects them. Nobori-san had to run after her to clear the misunderstanding."

"It must have been quite a sight." Kenichi laughed as the image of Nobori running after Touko surfaced in his mind.

"It was, trust me. Everyone was talking about it the next day." Mizuki tapped the table for attention. "Anyway, ever since that incident, the two started eating lunch together everyday."

"And that's where the relationship started?"

"No. That was much later. Tamura would know better since he took over me at that time." Mizuki pointed to guy one. "The day when Touko-san finally defeated Nobori-san."

"Ah yes… her voice was so loud that I could hear her in the next cabin. That day when she first defeated Nobori-san, she told Nobori-san that she had achieved all her goals and would be flying back too Nuvema town." Tamura's voice became a bit emotional. "It was also the day I first saw such despair on Nobori-san face. Although he only showed it for a split second, I am quite positive that guy is breaking apart inside at that time."

"W-what happened afterwards?" Kenichi gulped as he stared intently at Tamura, waiting for an answer.

"Touko-san stopped coming to the battle subway."

"If you think Nobori-san is a robot, you should have seen him then. That guy looked absolutely lifeless." Guy three shook his head. "He stopped training altogether and locked himself in his office, burying himself in paperwork. Kudari-san and Kamitsure-san had to break down the door to get him to eat. The standard of the battle subway dropped so much till it became headline news."

"Ah, I remember… I wanted to join the battle subway at that time but my mom opposed to it because of the news." Kenichi said. "But it didn't last very long though."

"Yeah… it was all thanks to Touko-san. When she heard the news, she flew back her immediately to slap some sense back into Nobori-san. When I say slap, I mean literally." Tamura chuckled. "Nobori-san had to walk around the station with that red hand print mark on his face the whole day. But after that day, things gradually picked up and went back to normal. Touko-san also started visiting again."

"And they finally got together?"

"Not yet… but close. Sumire knows the rest."

"Hmmm… after Touko-san came back, there were a few changes in their dynamics… how do I put it… before she left, conversations between the two of them were always polite and nice. After everything, they became a bit more open with each other… like how Touko-san would often tease him and his face would go all red. Sometimes he may even tease her back." Sumire described. "To people like us around, it would seem as if as they were flirting."

"Touko-san probably knew how Nobori-san felt since his brother told her what happened to him and it doesn't really take a genius to figure out what's going on." Mizuki pointed out. "She was blushing quite hard whenever she talked to Nobori-san. Even when she asked us about Nobori-san's whereabouts, her face would be all red."

"Sadly, the two never really got the courage to confess to each other." Sumire gave a pitiful smile. "At least not until Kamitsure-san and Kudari-san came into the picture. They got me to help out with their plans." Sumire pointed to himself proudly with his thumb. This got some excited murmurs from the other three.

"How did you help? Tell us!"

"It was an old-school method – locking them up in the janitor's storeroom. It was a difficult task since they have to be standing in front of the room at the same time. I managed to find an opportunity and together with Kudari, we successfully locked the two inside."

"Did you hear their confession?"

"Every. Single. Word."

For a moment, the exclamations that the three men emitted sounded like three highschool girls discussing about love instead.

\

_"I'm sorry, Touko-sama. I'll make sure Kudari apologises later."_

_"It's okay, Nobori-san. I'm sure he has his reasons for doing- aah. What was that?!"_

_"I'm sorry! I can't see very well in the dark."_

_"Stop moving! I'm ticklish!"_

_"I'm sorry!"_

_"Stop saying you're sorry!"_

_There was a loud crash._

_"You're heavy, Nobori-san."_

_"I'm sorry! I'll get off immediately… I can't get off if you're pulling my shirt."_

_"I'll let go if you promise not to say 'I'm sorry'."_

_"I'm sorry!"_

_"You really don't want me to let go, right?"_

_"T-that's not it, Touko-sama…"_

_"I would pay to see your face right now. If only it wasn't so dark."_

_"…"_

_"What are you doing?!"_

_"Looking for your lips… ah, here it is."_

_"What do you think you're doing."_

_"How does it feel to be the one being tormented?"_

_"Okay, okay. I'm sorry! Please forgive me, o great and wise one."_

_"It seems like you haven't learnt your lesson yet."_

_Silence._

_"Did you just…"_

_There was silence again with some sounds of movement._

_"When you never came back that day, I was really scared. I was scared of the emotions that were running through me at that time. They were really painful..."_

_"I'm sorry, Nobori-san. I thought that I never had a chance with you so after defeating you, all I could think of was getting out of here so I could forget about my feelings. I'm sorry for not realizing your feelings."_

_"Does that means…"_

_"Y-yes."_

_"I like you, Touko-sama, please go out with me!"_

_"Yes!"_

\

"And you stood outside listening to everything?" Mizuki asked in disbelief. "What about their privacy?"

"Hey! I had to make sure nobody opens the door. And besides, Kudari-san was openly eavesdropping on their conversation, sticking his ear to the door." Sumire defended. "And that was how they got together."

"Wow. That was a long story." Kenichi leaned back against his chair. "All's well that ends well."

"Yeah, because of Touko-san, Nobori-san became friendlier and more approachable. The power of love is really great." Tamura sighed. "I'll tell you about Kudari-san and Kamitsure-san's love confession next time."

The door swung open and in walked Nobori and Kudari. The four held their breath, hoping that they did not overhear their conversation.

"Thank you for the hard work today!" Kudari greeted them enthusiastically before proceeding to his locker. The four greeted back nervously and quickly left the room, leaving the two brothers.

"Your love story has become quite a hit among the workers eh?" Kudari laughed. "Wait till they hear about what you and Touko-san have been doing in the subway-"

"Shut up, Kudari." Nobori muttered, his face becoming very red. "We were only kissing."

"Sure, sure. If making out and kissing are the same things to you."

"If you ever breathe a word of it, I'll tell them about what you and Kamitsure-sama did in the-"

"Okay, okay! Truce!" Kudari covered Nobori's mouth to prevent any further leaking of his secrets. Nobori pushed Kudari away. "Anyway, it's not gonna be long before they realize what Touko-san is wearing."

"Let them figure out by themselves." Nobori took off his gloves and placed it in his locker. "Let's go. I'm tired from today's work."

"Okay~"

Both walked out of the locker room, along the corridor back to their rooms, talking about their day. The ring on Nobori's fourth finger glistened brightly under the subway light.

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**Just in case you're wondering, the locker room here is the one that you often see in restaurants and office rather than the locker room in sports facilities (For better imagination).**

**Reviews are appreciated! More Expressshipping fics/art are also appreciated!**


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